• by April 26, 2004

A few odds and ends on this rainy day in Manhattan.

Nielsen//NetRatings reports that Hispanics are the fastest growing group online with more than 12.6 million people accessing the Internet from home. No surprise there.

Increasingly, publishers are revving up programming and promotions to lure Latinos to the Web. America Online is a notable example and on Thursday, AOL and Ford will launch the AOL Latino Entrepreneur Hub "Mi Negocio." I'm looking forward to learning more about this endeavor, which is positioned as an online business hub for Hispanic entrepreneurs packed with tips, information, and networking opportunities.

Also of interest, UrbanLatinoTV and UrbanLatinoTV.com. These folks understand the Latino market and have zeroed in on young, savvy urbanites. While the show airs in New York City on Saturday nights at 1 a.m. (too bad, because that's probably when many Latinos are out on the town), the marketing and promotion model is interesting.

Nielsen's Charlie Buchwalter will present some highlights from a case study on Latinos' online behavior at the Advertising Research Foundation conference tomorrow, but for starters, here are some notable findings:

*Hispanics are much younger than the general online population--only five percent of the Hispanic Internet community is 55 years old and over versus 21 percent of the general online population.

*Hispanics are more likely to purchase event tickets, movies, music, and computer software on the Web than the rest of the online population.

*Average household incomes for Hispanics online skew lower than the general Internet population--44 percent have annual incomes of less than $50K versus 37 percent of the general online population, according to Nielsen//NetRatings NetView.

*Major year-over-year growth in Hispanic portals with entertainment-related sites' ad impression growth posting an 856 percent increase in the first quarter versus Q1 2003; business-to-business-related sites climbing 621 percent; and retail-oriented sites logging a 451 percent rise, according to Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance.

And on another topic: eMarketer reports that EarthLink and WebRoot Software scanned nearly 1.1 million PCs of U.S. Internet users and discovered more than 29.5 million instances of spyware. EarthLink estimates that nearly 90 percent of PCs connected to the Web are affected by spyware.

From spyware to creativity media:

You have until Friday, yes Friday, April 30, to nominate talented, hard-working, and creative up-and-comers for Media Magazine's Rising Media Star Awards. In case you missed the Minute last Thursday, these are the folks who are toiling away on media plans and overseeing media buys, strategizing on the best possible combinations for their clients, and making their bosses look good every single day of the week.

These rising stars are quite possibly being groomed for bigger things--perhaps they don't even know it yet. They are passionate and focused and bring a creative intensity to their jobs. They understand how media brings a client's campaign to life, and they take chances.

Are you a rising media star? Do you know someone who is? We invite you to nominate yourselves, and those you manage. Click on the link to enter the process. Nominations close on Friday April 30.